The famous poet, P.B. Shelley, in his poem “Ode to the West Wind” wrote, “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”
This is something we must all believe in today. Not only has the Coronavirus pandemic shown dark times to mankind, but it has also thrown before us opportunities galore. Manthan Sampoorna Vikas Kendra (SVK), the holistic education initiative of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan working under the divine guidance of His Holiness Sarv Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji, is determined to provide academic education along with moral and spiritual values to the underprivileged children of society. Even amidst this pandemic situation, we are offering Manthanites new opportunities and ways to learn. One such Alumni Engagement Workshop was conducted on 22 August 2020.
The session was held in three sessions, wherein Sadhvi Dr. Shivani Bharati ji took the very first session. Her presentation entailed the topic “Science behind the inner Sushumna”. She explained how our astral-body or the energy body consists of 72000 nadis (channels), three of which are considered major, Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. She explained how in each channel current flows and a tremendous amount of energy is generated, but gets wasted due to lack of knowledge of the science behind it. This Sushumna connects the base chakra to the crown chakra. Quoting several instances from our vedic scriptures and supporting scientific studies she explained how one can use the energy generated from it and improve one’s concentration, intellect, understanding etc. This was supported through a short activity in which she asked the students to stand up, jump for 30 seconds and then stop and count their breath for another 30 seconds. Then she asked the students to sit down, chat OM and take deep breaths for 30 seconds, and then again count their breath for another 30 seconds. The results were shared in the comment box that reflected how during an exhaustive session our breath per minute increases and how through mediation we can control our breaths and channelize our energies to connect to our inner self.
The second session was taken by our esteemed guest Dr. Jyotika Bedi, a renowned Psychologist and Owner of "Happiness is Love" in which she emphasized on the need to express our gratitude for everything we have now, especially during this pandemic. She gave students the C3 Mantra - Catch, Check and Change that is to Catch the thought that comes before any action, Check how accurate and useful the thought is and then finally Change the thought to a more optimistic one as needed. Sharing a quote, Nothing is more honourable than a grateful heart, she asked students to cull out a few things that they are grateful for during these times. She was impressed to witness the prompt replies and engagement of Manthanities in the session.
The third and the final session “Musical Paheliya” was undertaken by our brother volunteer, Tushar Pal, in which he sang a few acoustic musical riddles related to family values, mental health, Indian culture, patriotism and environmental issues. The idea was to draw the attention of the students to these important issues that form the basis of a successful person, a great citizen and an honourable human being.
